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Polar distortions in solids give rise to the well-known functionality of switchable macroscopic polarisation in ferroelectrics and, when combined with strong spin-orbit coupling, can mediate giant spin splittings of electronic states. While…
We have studied ab initio the phase transition in PbZrO3, a perovskite oxide usually presented as the prototypic anti-ferroelectric material. Our work reveals the crucial role that anti-ferrodistortive modes -- involving concerted rotations…
Metal halide perovskites (MHPs) are known to undergo several structural phase transitions, from lower to higher symmetry, upon heating. While structural phase transitions have been investigated by a wide range of optical, thermal and…
The ferroelectric nematic phase (N$_{\text{F}}$) has quickly become the most studied system in liquid crystal research. In this work, we investigate the origin of such polar structure by studying a compound for which the N$_{\text{F}}$…
Ferroelectric perovskite oxides possess a large electrocaloric (EC) effect, but usually at high temperatures near the ferroelectric/paraelectric phase transition temperature, which limits their potential application as next-generation…
Using first-principles methods, we predict the energy landscape and ferroelectric states of double perovskites of the form AA$'$BB$'$O$_6$ in which the atoms on both the A and B sites are arranged in rock-salt order. While we are not aware…
For the past decades, the low-temperature phase of Ca$_3$Ru$_2$O$_7$ below the 48K first-order phase transition remains a puzzle with controversial suggestions involving metallic ferroelectric, orbital or magnetic ordering. Through analysis…
We discover that a large family of [Pb$_2$F$_2$]- and [Bi$_2$O$_2$]-based mixed-anion materials with a litharge-type structural unit are highly polarizable layered semiconductors on the edge of ferroelectricity. First-principles…
Proximity ferroelectricity is a novel paradigm for inducing ferroelectricity in a non-ferroelectric polar material such as AlN or ZnO that are typically unswitchable with an external field below their dielectric breakdown field. When placed…
The common phase diagrams of superconducting iron pnictides show interesting material specificities in the structural and magnetic phase transitions. In some cases the two transitions are separate and second order, while in others they…
Coupling together distinct correlated and topologically non-trivial electronic phases of matter can potentially induce novel electronic orders and phase transitions among them. Transition metal dichalcogenide compounds serve as a bedrock…
Multiferroicity and magnetodielectric coupling in metal-organic-frameworks (MOFs) is rare and so far restricted mainly to formate-based systems with perovskite structure. In the course of this work we designed a tetragonal framework…
High-temperature electronic materials are in constant demand as the required operational range for various industries increases. Here we design $(A,A^\prime)B_2$O$_6$ perovskite oxides with [111] ``rock salt" $A$-site cation order and…
Although the magnetoelectric effects - the mutual control of electric polarization by magnetic fields and magnetism by electric fields, have been intensively studied in a large number of inorganic compounds and heterostructures, they have…
Switchable order parameters in ferroic materials are essential for functional electronic devices, yet disruptions of the ordering can take the form of planar boundaries or defects that exhibit distinct properties. Characterizing the…
Resistivity measurements are widely exploited to uncover electronic excitations and phase transitions in metallic solids. While single crystals are preferably studied to explore crystalline anisotropies, these usually cancel out in…
Magnetoelectric mutual control in multiferroics, which is the electric control of magnetization, or reciprocally the magnetic control of polarization has attracted much attention because of its possible applications to spintronic devices,…
A systematic microscopic theory of magnetically induced ferroelectricity and lattice modulation is presented for all electron configurations of Mott-insulating transition-metal oxides. Various mechanisms of polarization are identified in…
The structural and polar properties of BiFeO3 at finite temperature are investigated using an atomistic shell model fitted to first-principles calculations. Molecular Dynamics simulations show a direct transition from the low-temperature…
The discovery of superconductivity in Magnesium Diborate (MgB$_2$) has stimulated great interest in the search of new superconductors with similar lattice structures. Unlike cuprate or iron-based superconductors, MgB$_2$ is indisputably a…